~ Day by day with RA …

Lived Through Las Vegas

I was in Las Vegas this weekend and two conferences were being held simultaneously at the hotel. The first was Photoshop World which attracts a wide range of computer, photographic, and creative types of all ages and backgrounds. The second was labeled as The World’s Largest Tattoo Show. While there are a lot of ages and backgrounds into tattoos today, judging by the participants, you really had to be into the tattoo lifestyle to attend the three-day event. Not only were the tattoos interesting, the various outfits worn by the participants to show off their body art was particularly … revealing. One of the most interesting parts was when the photographers from the Photoshop conference got together with the folks from the tattoo show in the hallways. Spontaneous photo shoots broke out. People watching at its most entertaining.

I have to say I didn’t take very good care of myself over the weekend. My Simponi has been wearing off and while I can tell there are some benefits, it wears off more each day. I was really fatigued by the time I got to Las Vegas on Friday (and the two-hour time difference doesn’t help the body clock). Add to that all the walking, exorbitant food and perhaps more alcohol than is wise, and none of that is good for the RA. I did sit and play some video poker, but then my wrist and shoulder complained. The best part was the massage on Saturday afternoon along with the steam and whirlpool treatments that helped counteract the bad things I was doing to myself. My wrist is still complaining this morning (although I won at video poker), and doesn’t want to go back to work driving my computer mouse.

So now I’m back and focused on being better to me. Our trip to London is 7 weeks from tomorrow — and there’s lots of walking and cold, damp weather involved, so I’m officially “in training”. More exercise, better food, good sleep and less self-medication of the “on the rocks” variety. The next Simponi shot is coming soon as well, so that will make me feel better.

One of the concessions I did make to my RA and my healing shoulder was to check my bag on the airline. I have two general rules about travel: (1) no checked bags; and (2) don’t get arrested. But given that I was traveling on my own going to Las Vegas and wouldn’t necessarily have help getting my bag in the overhead, I opted just to check it. I’ve gotten used to the routine of having to get scanned every time I go through airport security, but the checking of the bag is a pretty monumental shift in policy for me. I see more of these concessions in the future and am already plotting knee-friendly, stair-avoiding routes to and from Heathrow for our upcoming London adventure. I love London, but they have no such thing as ADA in Europe and the city is built for people who are both mobile and fleet of foot. Watching Londoners flit up and down impossibly high “Tube” escalators is more entertaining and has more footwork than a full evening of River Dance. Not for the faint of heart or the RA challenged knees, for sure.